Dear Friends!

With great difficulty, after long weeks of forced interruption, it seems we have managed to restore our correspondence. Of course, for this to succeed completely, you must exert yourselves energetically and work hard at organizing it from your side.

The most disgusting Kautsky-Oist thing! Well, I'll answer him! He'll be pleased!

V. I. LENIN

I. F. ARMAND

Dear Friend!

I was very glad to receive your letter. I like your plan for the report very much. I absolutely advise you to repeat it, to challenge N. Bhog to battle, to supplement the report with a section on revolution (though the length of the report, perhaps, won't allow this?), that is, on how revolution can occur? what is the dictatorship of the proletariat? why is it necessary? why is it impossible without the arming of the proletariat? why is it fully compatible with democracy, complete, comprehensive democracy? (contrary to vulgar opinion).

Bhog and the other Swiss social-pacifists do not understand this; they have not given it thought; and Swiss conditions — of a small state and a small bourgeoisie of a small state — breed in every way precisely petty-bourgeois pacifism.

If you are receiving *Volkrecht* and *Berner Tagwacht* (these two newspapers are essential to read), then this, in my view, is sufficient for judging the position of the center, on which Grimm stands entirely (the scoundrel! How dishonestly he "fights" with the social-patriot Huber-Kuttzerath!!), and onto which Nobs and Platten have fallen (on 3/4). You are gravely mistaken if you write seriously about my "influence" on Platten. The matter stands thus: he and Nobs at Zimmerwald and Kienthal "enrolled" themselves with the left. I made dozens of attempts to draw them into discussions, into a circle, into conversations. All unsuccessful!! They fear Grimm and struggle with him. They are on 3/4 = "center." They are almost hopeless. Will a strong movement of the left straighten them out? Even then, hardly!

Today there is still no corrected resolution. Let's wait until tomorrow.

Münzenberg told me yesterday that they will have a meeting of the young on Tuesday from German and French Switzerland. By that time our resolution on the military question is necessary. (Radek undertook to prepare the draft, but has not delivered it to this day.) In my view, you must throw yourself into work with all your strength to manage by Tuesday (1) to write to Geneva and St.-de-R., so that for now my theses (§§ on the military question, section I) be taken as the basis; (2) to find out who will be at the meeting of the young from Romansh Switzerland; (3) to "work on," to "teach" them so that they understand where the core and essence of our difference lies from (a) social-pacifism and (β) from the "center" (= Grimm and Co.). (Platten understood absolutely nothing and doesn't want to learn.) Our position, in general, = K. Liebknecht, struggle with the social-patriotism and center of one's own country; inseparable link of the struggle against war with the struggle against opportunism and with comprehensive and immediate revolutionary work for socialist revolution.

The motives of the referendum, by the way, = the first step of the platform of the left in Switzerland. This is N.B.

On Tuesday the young from Romansh Switzerland must absolutely present a draft left resolution and fight for it. I have not yet seen the corrections, but I am convinced that it spoils the matter (peace, muddying the disagreements between the left and Swiss social-patriots rather than exposing them. This is the whole essence and whole baseness of Grimm's articles in *Berner Tagwacht* and in *Neues Leben* on majority and minority).

Try to draw closer to the interned French, establish correspondence, find connections, establish (a secret and informal) group of the left among them. Very important!

The slogan "mass movement" is not bad, but not entirely correct. For it forgets revolution, the conquest of power, the dictatorship of the proletariat. This is N.B.!! More correct: support and development (immediately) of all sorts of revolutionary mass actions with a view to hastening revolution, etc.

Platten = a muddler. With Scheidemann or with Liebknecht? he asks, not understanding that Grimm is precisely